Once Upon A Younger Year
by Noble Blue 26
Summary: Kala and Abby are off base when Optimus sends out a message that the Autobots are being hunted. When an injured and unfamiliar Autobot shows up on their college campus, the girls travel with the Autobot to Texas to meet up with the other survivors. That their friends are not the only ones being hunted, though. Set during AoE. I only own Kala and Abby, who are my OC.
1. Prologue

**Hi all! I'm back again. I've decided to delete "The Hunting Party" and have, in turn, replaced it with this. I hope that you like it!**

**Prolog**

A shadow moves deep in the shadow of the trees, quickly followed by the sound of gears shifting and a sharp engine rev. A teenage girl walks out of the woods, her brown hair falling loose upon the girl's tangerine plaid shirt and tangling with the strap of her messenger bag. She takes a quick look around and gives a small smile before forcing her expression to become neutral once more. She speeds up and disappears once more into the shadow of a nearby building.

The girl walks out of the shadow and climbs up the two flights of stairs leading to the classroom labeled "Room 29." She's not the first one there, though. Another girl with black hair is leaning against the wall, drawing. "Good morning, Kala," they say without looking up. Kala flops down next to the girl and takes off the bag.

"How was your drive?" Abby asks, and Kala rubs her eyebrows with her thumb.

"Same as usual. There was lots of complaining, but that was to be expected given the mouth that it was coming from." Abby snorts.

"I'm surprised he didn't outright hurl insults at the Boss yesterday." She says, and Kala begins to drum her fingers against her shoe. "I can see that your roommate is rubbing off on you." Both girls smile and the watch the professor walks around the corner and unlock the classroom.

"Did you two have a good summer vacation?" She asks with a laugh.

"Yes! It was great, thanks for asking. Well, except for the whole getting captured part, you know." Kala says before spring forwards lightly to enter the classroom, Abby following at her tail. Abby looks back over her shoulder to check that no one is following before she continues into the room.

"The dean already told me about your… incident. But the two of you have made new friends, right?" The professor smiles, running a hand through her short blonde hair.

"Yes. I guess that you can call them that. Basically," Abby looks over her shoulder again, "we were told to not be afraid to talk to any professors. So I'm going to trust you to keep a secret. My twin here, Kala, is one of the aliens' best spies. She's part of their Ops team. I, however, am one of their scientists. I also am part of a specialized strike team that operates outside of Ops. Jennie and Sienna are part of it, too. Anyways, we're keeping tabs on any of the enemy aliens and are sending reports back to base. That's our mission for the next three months."

"Way to rub it in, Abby. There's only _three more months_ until I get to see the aliens again!" Kala groans, thumping her head down onto the desk.

"You should be happy if we have to wait three months to see them, because otherwise we would most likely see them in a fight." Abby says, but it is clear that she knows that she'll miss her newfound friends as much as the other girl will.

"You know, Abby, I'm supposed to be the paranoid one here. Not that I'm anywhere as bad as the security director, but you seem overly worried today." Kala lifts her head only enough to be able to vaguely see her twin and the professor. The ticking of the clock is the only sound to be heard as Kala blinks in confusion and fully raises her head.

"Kala… you might want to see this. I think they're an Autobot."


	2. Chapter One- Hunted

**Hi everybody! I'm back. I hope that you enjoy this chapter of Once Upon A Younger Year. Yes, the professor is based off of my science teacher. This chapter is dedicated to the sixth graders at my school. Thanks for coming up with the idea for who the professor really is. ^_^ Thanks for reading!**

The Cybertronian stumbles forward, their gold optics wide with distress. A door opens with a creak, and Kala and Abby step out of the building. They approach the Cybertronian cautiously, almost as if they were a startled horse. The mech shutters his optics and stands in place, swaying, as the girls continue to walk towards him.

"Hello?" Kala asks, and the Cybertronian does not answer. "Hello?" The Cybertronian backs up, almost falling over again. "It's okay. We're not going to hurt you," Kala says, and the mech stands still again.

Abby runs a quick scan and reports her findings to Kala. _::He's a Neutral. There's extensive damage to his frame, most likely caused by missiles. It looks like he's had a run-in with Lockdown.::_ She sighs, and Kala decides to change tactics. _::And, Kala. He's not just any Neutral,::_ Abby continues, and Kala looks back over her shoulder at her friend. _::He's a Knight.::_ Kala blinks in surprise, and Abby quickly shakes her head, as if shaking off cobwebs. "Sorry. It's the whole 'I can read your mind' garbage."

"I wouldn't buy that for one second coming from anyone else, but it's you. We both have our own abilities, but I'm ninety-nine point nine percent sure that yours in not mindreading, no matter what Bumblebee says. I'd call it more… mind control." Kala smiles, and Abby rolls her eyes as her friend turns back towards the Cybertronian. "My name is Deep Freeze. This is Deep Abyss. We're Autobots," Kala says, "and we're going to help you." The world spins in front of the white mech's optics, and they fall with a crash.

"Great job, Kala. Brilliant. Absolutely brilliant."

"How long have you known?" Kala asks, absent-mindedly picking at her fingernail.

"From when you first walked in," the professor says, and Kala knows that Abby is growing more irritated by the second.

"But HOW? How did you know that we were Cybertronians? Autobots, even?" She shouts, jumping off of the table that she was sitting on.

"Let's just say that I'm… perceptive. No pun intended." The professor smiles a little bit, and looks up at Kala. "I know that you're trying to figure this out, Kala. You'll get it eventually. You're not Ops for no reason." The three sit in silence for a few minutes, looking at the white and red Cybertronian. "I don't get it, though. This mech was upgraded in a way similar to Drift's. I'd say that they both were upgraded in the same city, at least. But it's not the work of Autobots or Decepticons."

Abby, who has calmed down a little bit, speaks up again: "He _is_ a Knight, then! I was right!" The professor and Kala both look up, and recognition dawns on their faces.

"Wait. Hold that thought. You said that you were 'perceptive,'" Kala whacks her head back against the wall, and Abby and the professor stare at her blankly. "Of course! I'm an idiot. I have two questions for you, though." The professor smiles a little bit as Abby puts together the pieces and catches up to her twin. "Number one. Aren't you Cybertronian? Number two. I thought that you were a mech," Kala tilts her head to the right, and the professor laughs.

"Yes to both. I told you you'd figure it out. I'm Perceptor," the professor gets out of their chair and transforms, towering over the two girls. "It was an illusion. You saw what I wanted you to see, and now you can see me as I truly am."

The girls look at each other, not quite knowing what to do. The sound of a mech coming online makes the three Cybertronians turn back towards the Knight, who is now sitting up. They stare at the Autobots, recognizing the fact that they are currently unable to fend for themself at the moment. "Drift… he's being hunted."


End file.
